It’s only been about 20 years for me, but I’ve been thinking I should re-read it. I may have my 17-year-old son read it first, though. That’s probably more important. (or maybe I’ll just buy another copy and we can both read it).

When I first read it, I was not a born-again evangelical, now I am. So I wonder how I’ll respond now to the 20-page, rather atheistic, sermon at the end of the book (disguised as a radio broadcast if I recall correctly??). I always thought that that was stylistically out of place with the rest of the book. Ayn Rand could have just published that as an essay promoting individualism in another venue.

We may be fighting the tide now, but remember that it was initially a pretty small band of patriots that led us to shaking off the yolks of the British crown!

Who is John Galt?

We all have to start doing what we can to preserve what we can while planning for the future.

I am writing a piece that will address some of this stuff, in sort Principles, Values, and Integrity. Those are the broad themes that we can focus on. If we view the issues through them and really understand the construct, we can get through this and come back trimmer and less intrusive.

Keep your wit’s as Paul said, and remember even though we are there, we don’t have to stay there.

I’ve never read it.

And as every dime I have is going to debt reduction I’m not going to buy it, but I’ll try to check it out.

I’ll bet there is a waiting list now.

Proper grammar saves lives.

Let’s eat Grandma.
Let’s eat, Grandma.

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Activists Taking Action: Unified Patriots

Yes… that Alan Greenspan. I still don’t know quite what to make of that link, but it immediately caused me ti instinctively distrust Greenspan before I knew anything else about him. My casually read understanding of Ayn Rand is one of a reclusive, sexually immoral kook who reveled in the worship of her NYC intellectual cult followers and guarded her place in that cult viciously.

I read AS at a fairly ripe middle age. I was by then already a pretty rabid anti-Clinton conservative. Still, I found the bigger-than-life capitalist superheroes, the grey, childless culture, the doctrinaire atheism, and the long condescending “A=A” philosophical lectures excruciating. I skipped the long radio speech at the end, as I had pretty much had it at that point and was afraid my eyes would start to bleed.

Whatever good “Atlas Shrugged” may have done for capitalist ideology was, IMHO, canceled out by Ayn Rand’s personal goofiness, her weird cult-like rabidly anti-Christian atheism, and the fact that she was truly a lousy writer of fiction. At the end of the day, her abhorence of altruism in favor of extreme rugged individualism bordering on pathological narcissism gives the central-planners all the ammunition they need to paint capitalism as a blight upon the earth.

After the govermnet steals nationalizes Reardon’s patents on his super-metal (because the railroads needed it and they were “too big to fail”), it gets renamed “Miracle Metal”. Someone has a great comment about appropriate the name is, and how any sort of real acheivement must seem like a miracle to people who worship the collective and live on the dole by stealing the work of the productive class under the banner of altruism.

Has anyone noticed the term “Miracle on the Hudson”? Not to minimize what happened, but it wasn’t a “Miracle”; it was what I would expect from a group of highly trained, competent, well-paid professionals (including the ground controlers, IMHO). It just SEEMS like a miracle to people in the journalism field…

Rand’s individualism and objectivism are as joyless as socialist realism. A healthy society must be rooted in voluntary community, which is the model our founding fathers were working from.

Each age must act to oppose the pole which is more threatening. In 2009, the collectivist left is the greater danger, so I will stand up for the rights of an individual against and overreaching state.

But that is not the same as to say that government in itself is illegitimate – because there’s far more under the sun that drives humans than rationality; there’s also sin – as our last election proves once again,

Elderly Woman: I don’t go by my head, but by my heart. You might be good at logic, but you’re heartless.

d’ Anconia: Madame, when we’ll see men dying of starvation around us, your heart won’t be of any earthly use to save them. And I’m heartless enough to say that when you’ll scream, “but I didn’t know it!”- you won’t be forgiven.

“Listening” to it, actually – first audio book ever for me. My step-daughter got me doing it; she listens on her long commutes and is addicted to it. I owned the book when I was young and never read it. Simply astonishing how contemporary it is vis-a-vis what is happening now. Extremely depressing and enlightening.

Who is John Galt?

On the one hand, I think her philosophic argument against collectivism is spot on. Quite frankly, I have never read a better argument against it than those she makes, with Atlas Shrugged being her magnum opus.

However, her arguments in support of “rugged individualism” was silly. Indeed, although she is presented as the champion of capitalism, her adherence to an ideal of “rugged individualism” was fundamentally antithetical to what capitalism truly is.

In Ayn Rand’s world, Neitzchian supermen such as John Galt and Hank Reardon (and the women they sleep with without consequence such as Dagny Taggert) create the inventions and should make the decisions for the entire world. In Rand’s eyes, they are more intelligent and therefore have all the right answers and come to the correct conclusions. But in the real world, no one has all the answers. That is the very basis of capitalism and the free market: that no single person or entity has all the answers but that collectively — yes, COLLECTIVELY — each person has a part of the “answer” that is constantly being negotiated in the market primarily as price points.

Of course, this capitalist idea of the free market is rarely if ever attained. On that, Ayn Rand and I and I think most people here would agree. Moreover, the entreprenuer does exist: the individual who introduces often radical new information in the marketplace. But that fact remains that not even the entrepreneur acts as the Neitzchian supermen of Rand’s fantasy: it is the free market of the collective wisdom of the masses that implements the entreprenuer and determines it’s value, not the entreprenuer him or herself.

Indeed, let’s acknowledge her philosophy for what it was: “selfishness” pure and simple. Even she proudly — and I do mean PROUDLY — admitted that “selfishness” was the basis of her entire philosophy.

But”selfishness” is not the philosophical basis of a psychologically healthy human being: it is the basis of a sociopath. Indeed, if you really analyze all the characters in her books, both “good” and “bad,” they are all little more than functioning sociopaths: Erstwhile disconnected from those around them relating to one another in terms of how they can benefit or what they can provide to each other. Every character in Ayn Rand’s books are there simply to provide pleasure or affirmation of worth to another character: Ayn Rand simply judges and defines her characters by the value, its nature and extent, they provide to other characters. Nothing more.

Many people here have commented on how Atlas Shrugged (indeed, all of Ayn Rand’s works) are notable for their lack of child characters. There have been many great novels without child characters (indeed, you can argue that most great novels lack them) but in Ayn Rand’s works it is especially noteworthy because we fundamentally do not relate to children as sociopaths. When we are around children and/or are caring for them, we do not ask things like, what can this child do for me?

But I do not think Ayn rand got that. Indeed, considering not only the books that she wrote but also her own lifestyle and the cult that she consciously built around herself, I am forced to admit that Ayn Rand herself was probably a functioning sociopath.

In fact, Ayn Rand exhibited a really scary fascination and even admiration for an infamous child killer named William Hickman. According to her notes, she thought admirably of his lack of remorse for his crimes, including the murder of a twelve-year-old girl. And if you do not believe me, please google ‘ayn rand william hickman’ (without the quotes, of course).

There is a reason why “selfishness” is considered evil and a sin but unfortunately, Ayn Rand simply did not get it.

Yet for all of this, I will still agree that Ayn Rand makes the strongest arguments against collectivism I have ever read. It is simply that on examination, I do not think she offers much more.

Completely out of the historical context of her writings. I compare “Anthem” favorably with BNW and “Animal Farm” for the period. “Fountainhead” is likely her best pure novel, in that the reader can understand the struggle of the hero even while questioning his behavior. “Atlas” is pure philosophical polemic wrapped in fiction. As the huge book piles brick upon brick upon brick on the back of Atlas, there comes a point when even the most unsophisticated reader cries “Enough!” There is a reason it has remained one of the most popular books among undergraduates since the ’60s. With due regard to Hyeck, Kirk and von Mises, I don’t think the anti-socialist message was as compellingly delivered to a mass audience at the time by any other author. Remember, this was the time when even Chambers was writing in “Witness” that he felt he was leaving the winning for the losing side.

As to the personality cult and personal failings that enveloped her non-fiction years, one might as well dispariage the works of Van Gogh because he became crazy enough to amputate his ear.

Again, in swimming against the tide with “Atlas”, her emphasis on selfishness was no more than an application of the “invisible hand” principle, exagerated for effectiveness, as was all her writing. As mentioned above, she wrote, and displayed, little of appreciation for true interdependence as it exists within healthy families. But then, I find the same failings in the writings of most libertarians.

the hobo on the train has seen into the future; our future. He is clearly describing this stimulus debacle we are currently enduring.

And I read “Atlas Shrugged” when I was a very impressionable and ignorant 15 year old. Wasn’t sure just what I was reading, but I came away chilled to the bone at the bleakness of government control and the greed of lazy people. I went on to read “The Fountainhead” and “Anthem”, but need to go back and re-read all three to refresh my memory. Just re-organized my books and found them all again.

This was my first read at 39 years old. I shared a lot of the amazed reactions mentioned in this thread as well as the reservations mentioned. In particular I did not take well the hatred toward religion in general.

But the part that really has made me think a lot since I read AS is her view of specific people who are, in essence, the people who make the economy work. Maybe in other countries this is the case, but certainly not in America. This has struck me particularly as I hear our President repeatedly claim that “only government” can solve our current problems.

My reaction to our President AND to Ms. Rand is the same–it will be the American people who will bring back prosperity and a strong country.

It will not be government OR certain individuals.

I really tried very hard to get rid of reading Atlas Shrugged in High School:

1. MY IRRATIONAL LOGIC THEN: Why would I read a VERY THICK THICK fictional book written by a former Communist? And a woman? I hated reading and writing when I was in high school (although I excelled in math and science). And I was an egoistic hunk(?) back then… didn’t really like intelligent woman except…

2. MY CRIME ON RAND’S ATLAS SHRUGGED: I just copied the reaction paper of my HS girlfriend and put so many “WTH”, “Really?”, “I doubt it”, etc. so that my English teacher wouldn’t notice my crime. The funny thing/injustice was this: I got an A+ and my GF got only a B+. Men always rule and excel!!! But I knew I was humane and there’s something good in my heart despite my bravado. To atone for my sin, I forced myself to marry my GF 10 years ago (a payback) and I’m still suffering because of it. Two kids in the Age of Obama…. what a penitence! LOL Just kidding. My wife has a small but very good business that helps feeding me and my kids. (Maybe that’s the main reason why I always force myself to say “I love my wife”.)

3. MY PROMISE: Seriously, I’ll find a quiet time to read it.